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Learning Things (10/3/15)

I have some book quotes sitting in my ‘drafts,’ but haven’t had time to actually write posts about them. This morning I have some time, so I thought I’d make a broader post on what I’ve learned so far this semester.

A Canonical Approach to the Psalms
I am taking a class on ‘the Writings’ of the Old Testament (Psalms-Chronicles in the Hebrew order of the Bible). My professor did his Ph.D work Book 4 of the Psalms – particularly on how Book 4 advances a ‘canonical’ understanding of the Psalter.

The Canonical Approach to the Psalms is intriguing, and I’ve found it helpful. The basic idea is that Psalms is arranged in an intentional order for the purpose of advancing a narrative. Psalm 1 introduces us to the Psalter as ‘torah,’ written in five books, like the Torah of Moses. Martin Luther called the Psalms a ‘little Bible’ within the Bible. The Canonical Approach sees it this way as well. Psalm 2 introduces the Messianic King whom the Psalter is written about. Books 1 through 3 show the decline of the messianic kingship, culminating in the final psalm of Book 3, which finds the kinship cut off and the people of Israel in Exile.

Book 4 (Ps. 90-106) finds the people in exile, ‘wandering in the wilderness’ like Moses in days of old (see Ps. 90-91). By Book 5 (Ps. 107-150) the people are ascending back up the mountain to Jerusalem and worshiping God. They still reflect on their captivity (Psalm 137), but they are mostly in a posture of worship, anticipating the restoration of the throne of David.

This theory of the Psalms as a ‘canon’ may have some holes, but it’s fairly compelling and gives us a macro way to demonstrate that aside from the experiential and worship aspects of the psalms, they are meant to have a narrative force that points us to Christ.

The Shepherd Hypothesis in Song of Solomon
We haven’t covered Song of Solomon in the course yet, but my reading has touched on this. The Shepherd Hypothesis, also called the ‘three person hypothesis,’ contends that the Shulammite (Songs 6:13) had two suitors in Song of Solomon. The story, in this theory, is that the Shulammite is in love with a simple shepherd man from her own territory, but is also being courted by King Solomon. Hence the back and forth action between the garden and the city.

I don’t have time at present to flesh this out completely, but if you take this approach, here’s a good example of what it entails. The palace scenes of someone knocking on her door actually describe her true love, the shepherd, traveling to the palace to find her and reclaim her love. He is in danger and flees, she chases him and is thus beaten by the guards. It makes a good deal of sense:

Song of Solomon 5:7 The watchmen found me as they went about in the city; they beat me, they bruised me, they took away my veil, those watchmen of the walls. 8 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am sick with love.

In the end, love prevails. The Shulammite turns down the advances of Solomon, in all his pomp and splendor, and returns to the country to be with her true love, the simple shepherd.

The most amazing thing about this approach is that it turns the ‘allegory’ of the story in a fascinating new direction while also allowing for literal interpretation that doesn’t involve Solomon as the prototypical lover (if you know anything about Solomon, that has difficulties). If you’re interested in seeing more about this you can read more about it HERE.

Christian Education
I’m taking a course on the educational ministry of the church. The main idea so far is that education is vital to the task of the church (as it’s included in the Great Commission). Nothing major to report on as of yet. I had to wrestle with the differences between preaching and teaching this past week. It’s one of those situations where there are clear distinctions but a lot of overlap.

A.D.D. Environments
I’ve spent the last six months in my new job staring at computer screens for hours upon hours each day. I’m working on curriculum, doing technical work, answering emails, answering texts, and trying to work on sermons and school work from time to time. I feel it changing me. I feel my brain gravitating toward attention deficits. It’s interesting.

Douglas Coupland, one of my favorite authors, has made the claim somewhere that we are all going to be forced into living in a state of attention deficits. He tends to think this is something we’ll simply adapt to, and that it won’t necessarily be a bad thing. I have my concerns, as longtime readers of this blog will know.  I have been thinking about writing a post called ‘A.D.D. Environments,’ that would details how our environments deeply affect our ability to concentrate. I haven’t managed to do it yet, and others have certainly written about this. (By the way, in the time I’ve written this post I’ve had a dozen text messages, the phone ring, and some American Heritage girls come to my door selling cookies).

I read Moonwalking with Einstein recently and found it helpful. I’ve actually used some of the memory techniques Joshua Foer describes there.  (You can watch his TED Talk HERE). Aside from the ‘memory palaces,’ my wife has a nice picture of me studying with my large soundproof earmuffs and my blacked out glasses on. They actually help to fight distraction quite well if you find yourself in a situation where you absolutely have to concentrate.  Adapting doesn’t simply mean capitulating to A.D.D. environments; it means finding ways to fight back.

The Interviews: Lessons from the Enduring and Unfamous

I recently interviewed two ministers for a class project. The interviews turned into much more than interviews. They turned into long conversations, and, I hope, friendships. I won’t go into specifics here, only lessons. I want to share how and why these men caused me to praise God.

I decided that I wanted to interview older ministers who had stayed the course in the ministry. Between the two men that I chose, I was listening to the wisdom gleaned from over 100 years of experience in gospel ministry. Both were ordained in the 1950’s, both have continued to fight the good fight, both are running the race right on to the end. This, in itself, made the time and effort to interview these men worth it. Here were two men who endured, and remain joyful, and continue to minister into their 80’s. Neither of them sought (or gained) wealth, neither of them had the slightest desire to be famous, neither of them even sought to be relevant (in the worldly sense of the term). They were simply faithful, and remain faithful. God bless them and all men like them.

Of all the things God taught me in these interviews, the main thing was the power of endurance. More than ever I long for nothing more than to be called to a church that will have me for the rest of my life. George Bush didn’t invent staying the course, and he didn’t ruin the idea or practice of doing so. Staying the course, at least to me, still means something.

Honor is due to those who endure, not just to those who sparkle. We should honor such men much more than we do.

The other primary lesson I learned is that ministry is intricately tied to personality. God gives diverse gifts. You can’t escape it. I talked to two men who have lasted for so long, two men whose theological beliefs are essentially identical, and yet their practices were very different. They dealt with people very differently, they preached differently in some respects, and yet they both capably ministered to the flocks the good Shepherd entrusted to them.

I am a big believer in imitation. I believe that discipleship, stripped down, is imitation of Jesus through imitation of those who are like Jesus. But these interviews reminded me that, under Christ, you must, in some sense, be your own man. If I tried to follow the advice of both men I would be called schizophrenic. They were that different. But both were faithful, and I don’t judge one to be more faithful than the other. They both proclaimed the Word of God and cared for the souls of men. At the end of the day, what more could you ask? You must take those two things, which go hand in hand and cannot be separated for a pastor – proclamation and soul-care – and do them with all you might according to the gifts that God has given you, within the bounds of his Word.

Young ministers, Do not rush into the ministry without counsel, without the wisdom and prayers of godly, Christ-loving men who have run the race before you. Don’t seek the famous, seek the godly and enduring.

I felt a call to gospel ministry 12 years ago. I began preaching 12 years ago. But I was not ready to pastor a flock (I also happened to be 20 years old). Could God edify men through my preaching? Yes. Could he win the lost through my preaching? Yes. But I would not have been able to care for a flock on a regular basis. ‘Not a novice, lest he be puffed up with pride and fall into the snare of the devil.’ Paul wrote that for a reason. Seek counsel from those wiser, and holier, than you. And while you’re at it seek their prayers – not prayers for your success, but prayers for wisdom and holiness.

Nearly every morning, when I wake up and begin my morning prayers, I thank God that I woke up a Christian. It wasn’t a dream. I didn’t wake up to find the old me had reappeared in the night. Grendel had not appeared and slaughtered while the king slept. God’s mercies in Christ are new every morning, and he slumbers not nor sleeps. Take the time to look at older men and women who have endured. Study their endurance. Pray for your own: ‘Here’s my heart, O take it seal it, seal it for thy courts above.’ God’s sustaining power is amazing.

Memory, What Memory?

I’m intrigued by the concept of memory (see HERE, HERE, and HERE). After the semester is over I may post the blistering essay I actually turned in on this subject, but for now one observation will suffice:

My psychology textbook virtually denies the existence of the memory (pp. 342-343). ‘Memory’ is not quantifiable. We have yet to scientifically locate it in the brain despite various efforts and theories. Therefore it cannot scientifically be said to have real existence. What we call memory, the textbook contends, is best expressed as behavior adaptation based on experience.

The only question is, How am I supposed to remember all that?

Things I Learned in School this Week (Sept. 6)

This may become a semi-regular feature on the blog. My school will remain nameless, to protect the innocent, but I am currently taking a few online classes from a major state university and from time to time I read something that stands out as either worth remembering or worth laughing at. I have three such items to record this week:

1. According to a 2007 Veronis Suhler Stevenson report on Annual Media Consumption the average American watches about 5 hours of television per day. According the same report the average American reads books for about 8 minutes a day.

2. According to my current science textbook the earth is approximately 4.7 billion years old, though its origin is ‘incompletely understood,’ and Global Warming is a scientific fact.
I’m not so bold as to claim that I know, or even have a clue about, the age of the earth. I will not speculate where God has not spoken clearly. And so it amazes me the presumptions that science can make in some instances. And they think we’re the religious dogmatists going on blind faith. I know people will argue with me about this till they’re blue in the face, but I struggle with the idea that you can have ‘observable data’ proving such an age of the earth without giant leaps in your reasoning (i.e. faith). I have no opinion on global warming, that’s way above my pay-grade,  but it seems the idea that it is a ‘scientific fact’ is a bit disputed these days. Our textbook speaks it as if it were indisputable brute fact.

3. Another one from my Mass Media class: In discussions about diffusion of innovation I admitted myself to be a horrible laggard as far as new technology is concerned. I don’t even have a smart phone. I might as well be Amish by today’s standards.
In defense of myself, I mentioned the practically enslaving qualities these phones seem to possess over their users, who seem to be glued to them most of the time. I also mentioned that I am busy enough in my life that I like having times when people can’t text message me, and when I can just work or spend time with my wife and children without interruptions.
I actually got a good bit of positive feedback believe it or not – mostly of the ‘I admire you, but I just can’t go back’ kind – people missing those ‘simpler’ times. One quote is worth remembering. Someone said to me, ‘There are times when I feel like running away from my phone, but without my phone I can’t tell directions.’ That’s an eloquent way of putting it. I may expand upon this a bit in the near future.

  • Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.